The Time Lord's Virus
by hurkydoesntknow
Summary: The Doctor is afflicted with an unknown virus that is causing him to be hostile and mad. Can Amy and Rory stop him and find a cure for their friend?
1. First Attack

**Disclaimer: Hurky doesn't own Doctor Who. If she did, it would be on more often and on more channels in the United States. Doctor Who is the property of BBC.**

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"Well now, I'd say that was a rather successful adventure today!" the Doctor summarized, closing the TARDIS door.

"We were actually not attacked by something for once" Amy said with a nod, crossing her arms. "So Doctor, what are we going to do now?"

"I say it's time for a good rest," replied the Doctor, tinkering with the controls of the TARDIS. He began to enter controls for the next destination. "Tomorrow we can go to the 90s England!"

"Oh no," Amy said in disgust. "You really don't mean that, do you?"

"What?" asked Rory. "I liked the 90s, when we were kids. Simpler times."

"The Spice Girls and their horrid music!" Amy cried, covering her ears. (**A/N: I love the Spice Girls**)

"_If you want to be my lover, you gotta get with my friends!_" Rory sang in an off-key tune.

Amy kept shouting at Rory as he continued to sing and follow Amy around the ship. The Doctor smiled to himself.

"_Make it last forever, friendship never eeennnnddddsss!"_ Rory bellowed.

"Rory, you'll have plenty of time to sing in the morning when we meet them," said the Doctor. "You and Amy should get some sleep."

"Sure thing, Doctor!" Rory said with a salute before walking up the stairs.

So Amy and Rory got into their nightclothes and got into bed, immediately falling asleep. The Doctor, however, stayed awake, since he didn't need as much sleep as the Ponds did. Being a Time Lord, his body was different.

Suddenly, while Amy began to dream about the duck pond back in Leadworth having ducks in it, she awoke to the sound of something crashing. Amy turned to her side and saw Rory still asleep. If he could, Rory could probably sleep through an entire war going on outside. Amy got out of bed, put her robe on over her nightie, and went downstairs to find the Doctor.

"Doctor?" she called, tiptoeing the glass floor with her slippered feet.

The console room was empty, only then Amy noticed that there was a broken white teacup on the floor. There were a few drops of tea in the mess of broken ceramic. Amy thought that was rather strange that there was a broken teacup there but she guessed that was what must have woken her up. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Must have been this cup," Amy said to herself. "Doctor must have dropped it. I'll just go get a broom and sweep this up."

She walked over to the kitchen, where the Doctor kept all his cleaning supplies. While his TARDIS could pretty much do anything, it still required someone else to clean the time machine up, whether it was the Doctor or a companion. Amy went and got a broom and walked back to the console room, where she began to sweep up the teacup.

After collecting the teacup and throwing it out, Amy yawned. She didn't realize how tired she was nor how late it was. She turned off the lights in the kitchen and began to go to her room, only to find the Doctor standing there, staring at her in the console room.

"Oh, Doctor!" Amy said in relief. "You startled me for a second. Usually you're dancing around..."

The Doctor didn't say anything. He stared at her with deep green eyes, very evilly. Amy felt like the Doctor was somehow different. He wasn't his cheery, babbling self that he was a few hours ago. His hair, which was usually fringe-y, fell over his eyes.

"Doctor, you-" Amy asked until the Doctor darted quickly for Amy, grabbing her by the throat and pressing her against the wall. His mouth twisted into an evil smirk. Amy tried to push him off her but he was strong. Stronger than he normally was.

"ROOOORRRRRRYYYYYYY!"

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**This is just a small bit of writings. Reviews would be nice (especially since my other Dr. Who fic isn't doing very well). Hopefully I can update this when I can, just gotta deal with work and watching more Dr. Who.**


	2. Awakening

Rory awoke to the sound of Amy screaming from downstairs. He shot up in bed. "Amy?"

"RORY!" Amy screamed. "HELP!"

Rory darted out of bed and ran to where Amy's screams were coming from. He could not believe what he was seeing. The Doctor had his hand firmly gripping Amy's throat, pressing her against the wall of the console room.

"Ro-" Amy squeaked as the Doctor began to squeeze her throat, making her unable to scream.

"Oi!" Rory shouted to the Doctor. "Let go of her!"

The Doctor remained silent. He was still squeezing Amy's throat. Rory charged down the stairs and immediately punched the Doctor in the face, causing him let go of Amy and fall to the ground. Amy herself fell to the ground, gasping and coughing for air.

"You alright, Amy?" Rory asked frantically.

Amy nodded, still gasping but hugged her husband. Rory rubbed his wife's back, trying to soothe her, but this was short lived. The Doctor stood back up, with the same look on his face as earlier. He lunged towards Rory, who let go of Amy and tried to run, only to be caught by the Doctor. He pinned Rory to the ground, twisting his arm, trying to break it. Rory screamed in pain.

"Hey!" Amy cried, kicking the Doctor off of Rory.

"He's gone bloody mad!" Rory yelled as he got up and began to run with Amy.

"But he would never hurt anyone," added Amy. "He always tells us to never bring weapons on any adventures."

"Think I know why," said Rory. "So we can't defend ourselves against the Doctor when he attacks us!"

They ran into their bedroom and bolted the door shut. They expected the Doctor to try and open the door, but silence.

"See if he's still out there," Amy whispered after waiting twenty minutes.

"What?" Rory screetched. "Are you mad, woman? He might be outside this door waiting for us to come out and kill us!"

"Oh, let me do it!" Amy said in frustration. She unlocked the door, slowly creaked it open, and took a peek. She saw nothing at first, just empty halls. She breathed a sigh of relief until she saw the Doctor walking in the halls to their door. Amy yelped a tiny yelp and closed the door, holding her breath. There was a knock.

"Ponds, you awake yet?" asked the Doctor in a normal voice.

Rory and Amy stood, leaning on the door frozen in place. They weren't sure if it was a trap or not.

"Guess you're not awake yet," concluded the Doctor. "Well, I'm going to go freshen up and make breakfast. For some reason, my face feels rather odd. Like someone punched it. Feels bloody nasty."

After that, the couple heard footsteps walking away from outside the door. Amy opened the door again and saw that the Doctor was gone.

Rory walked over to the closet and began to pull clothes off the hangers. "Get dressed, Amy."

Without another word, Amy followed Rory's directions and got ready. They carefully opened the door and walked to the console room, armed with the most blunt objects they had. Rory had a book while Amy found the broom from last night on the floor. Amy and Rory crept very slowly to the kitchen, where a good old fashioned English breakfast was waiting for them at the table.

Suddenly a hand touched Amy and Rory each on the shoulders, startling them. "Ah, good to see you down here this morning!" said a familiar male voice.

Amy screamed loudly and turned to hit the Doctor with the broom, who immediately grabbed it from her.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" he yelled in surprise. "Just what do you think you two are doing?"

Rory and Amy immediately realized this was the normal Doctor. His eyes looked pleasant, his hair floppy as ever, a look of care and concern on his face. He was different from the Doctor who attacked them just a bit ago.

"Doctor, you tried to kill me last night!" Amy cried with tears welling up in her eyes.

The Doctor's jaw dropped open. "I did?" he asked in shock. "Oh, Amy..."

He ran his hand in his hair as Amy began to explain. "Just earlier, you dropped a teacup and it woke me up, so I went down and came to clean it up. Right when I finished, there you were..." she said, choking up. "...you grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall. Rory had to come rescue me."

"Then you tried to break my arm by twisting it!" Rory added.

The Doctor's eyes welled with tears. "I-I don't remember doing any of that..." he said, feeling a lump form in his throat. "All I can remember is finishing off my cuppa while inspecting the TARDIS' control panel. I got dizzy and blacked out. I remember waking up on the floor by the stairs, in pain."

"Yeah, sorry," Rory admitted. "Had to punch you in the face."

"Understandable," agreed the Doctor. "But Amy, Rory, you know I would never, _never_ intentionally hurt you, physically or emotionally. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me."

Amy, sobbing, wrapped her arms around her former imaginary friend, who wrapped one arm around her. He opened his other arm for Rory to join them, in which he reluctantly did. They embraced in a long hug before letting go.

"Now, let's say we have a good English breakfast!" suggested the Doctor with a smile.

So Rory and Amy ate breakfast with the Doctor. However, the Doctor wasn't eating much. He also grew a little pale by the end of the meal.

"Think I'll go take a rest," said the Doctor with a yawn as Rory and Amy scraped their plates and began to clean them.

"No problem," Amy waved off. "You look a bit tired. I know your night wasn't so restful."

The Doctor smiled at Amy, giving her a look with his pleasant eyes as if to thank her for being so nice to him despite what he had unknowingly tried to do to her. As he left the kitchen and went on his way to his room, the TARDIS sensed somehthing was not right with the Doctor. She buzzed and hummed sharply.

"No, old girl, I don't need a medical scan," The Doctor brushed off. "Just a wee bit of rest and I'll be fit as a fiddle!"

The TARDIS hummed worriedly.

"Don't you worry," the Doctor reassured as he reached his room. "I'll be fine."

He slid his tweed coat off, hung it, and lied down on a large full sized bed covered with blue blankets and many pillows. He relaxed and cuddled into the pillows as the TARDIS dimmed the lights until only the ceiling glowed with blue and yellow lights of a crescent moon, stars, and planets.


	3. The Virus

**Disclaimer: Just a friendly reminder that Hurky doesn't own Doctor Who. If she did, both David Tennant and Matt Smith would have hosted Saturday Night Live by now. Because they are both that awesome. Hurky did come up with Mardoka and the Mardokan Hibiscus Flower.**

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Rory and Amy finished cleaning the breakfast dishes and decided to hang out in the console area. They were both still angry about what happened but they were also worried about the Doctor. Every hour or so, one of them would go and check up on the Doctor. He would still be sound asleep in his room.

Five hours later, the Doctor eventually awoke feeling a bit more refreshed, but still groggy. He stood up from the bed, pulled on his jacket, and joined Rory and Amy.

"Hey, welcome back, sleepyhead," joked Amy as the Doctor walked in. "How're ya feelin'?"

"Still a bit groggy but I think once I walk around a bit, I'll be fine," the Doctor replied as he smiled and straightened out his bowtie. "Now, where did we leave off? I do believe we were about to go to 90s London and meet the Spice Girls! Ah, brings back wonderful memories of when I met the Beatles! Such an era..."

Amy rolled her eyes as the Doctor rambled on about the 60s and the Beatles while Rory listened intently. However, Amy was happy and she couldn't help but to smile. _This_ was the Doctor she adored. The man who would spend hours droning on about hanging out with some historical figure or celebrity of the past. The Doctor claimed he once had a dance and sing-off against Elvis Presley...and won. Then there was the incident with George Washington and chopping down his father's cherry tree...

Suddenly, the Doctor's babbling was interrupted by a groan. Amy immediately snapped back to reality.

"Doctor, are you alright?" she asked him gently.

The Doctor closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "Just a headache," he said. "It'll pass."

Rory the nurse put a hand on the Doctor's forehead. He immediately felt his hand burn. "Ow!" he yelped. "Definitely has a fever."

"Will you two stop fussing over me?" the Doctor snapped. "I told you, I'm fine."

"We'll see about that," Amy said, crossing her arms. "So anyway, Doctor, tell me about the time the-TARDIS, run a body scan!"

The TARDIS chirped and immediately complied with Amy. The time machine scanned the Time Lord's body and printed out a report. Amy snatched it and began to read it. Her eyes widened.

_"'...Illness: Gallifreyan Virenzapox'?_" she read aloud. "What is that?"

The TARDIS printed out another paper for Amy to read. The Doctor wasn't going to tell Amy, as he was stubborn, but his time machine was a big mouth. He stuck his tongue out at the ceiling of the TARDIS.

"_'A virus Time Lords can get, it severely affects their health, both physically and emotionally. Symptoms include fever, headaches, chills, nausea, fatigue, blackouts...accompanied by severe to violent mood swings that can lead to homicidal tendencies?!'_"

The Doctor hung his head low. "Just what I feared," he said quietly. "I remember watching people get this dreadful illness and kill their families...very horrifying..."

Rory put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. "Come on, Doctor, there _must_ be a cure for this," he reassured.

The Doctor's head popped back up and he ran over to the controls. "There is a cure, and we can go and get it!" he said, typing coordinates and pulling levers. "It's on a very distant planet called Mardoka. We need to find a flower called the Mardokan Hibiscus so we can extract its nectar and inject it into me. It's a wonderful flower with great healing abilities. We used to eat these on Gallifrey to ensure good health and the effects last a good long time."

"When was the last time you had one of these flowers?" asked Amy.

"About two-hundred years ago..." replied the Doctor sheepishly. "It's been quite a while since I've been to Mardoka, I'm afraid. But not to worry! One simple trip and we'll be able to get the flower in no time!"

"Oh no, looks like 90s London will have to wait," Amy said unsympathetically and sarcastically. "Oh well."

"How much longer have we got til we get there?" asked Rory.

"Just two hours," The Doctor answered briskly. "We'll let the TARDIS here do all the work. I've set the course for Mardoka."

"Great!" said Amy. "So now what do we do to kill time?""

The Doctor immediately felt dizzy. He grabbed his head, stared down at the ground, and smiled.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor looked up, having the same evil look on his face from earlier. "I can kill you..."


	4. Hide and Seek

Amy's smile disappeared. "What are you saying, Doctor?" she asked in horror.

The Doctor grabbed one of the levers of the control panel, ripped it out effortlessly, and began to run towards Amy in an attempt to stab her. Amy screamed. Rory grabbed the broom from earlier and blocked the Doctor from hurting Amy.

"That's my wife you're trying to hurt!" Rory cried.

The Doctor glared at Rory and charged at him. Rory, having hardly any self-defense skills, acted upon instinct. He hit the lever out of the Doctor's hands with the broom while Amy stuck her foot out, causing the Doctor to trip and fall flat on his face.

"Come on, Amy!" cried Rory, dropping the broom, grabbing Amy's hand, and running.

The couple ran into the extensive hallway, looking for a place to hide while the Doctor got up.

"Rory, I'm scared," Amy panted.

"I know, Amy," said Rory. "We just need a place to hide until we can get to the cure. Once we do so, we can cure the Doctor and he'll be back to his old self in no time."

Amy hoped so. The last thing she needed was for the Doctor to remain in his condition. Would he even remain homicidal if left untreated, or would he get sicker? Amy didn't even want to know. She just wanted her Raggedy Old Doctor back. The one who would eat fish fingers and custard and kiss her on the forehead.

Rory and Amy ran until they were at least forty doors in. Rory finally picked a room and went inside it. It turned out to be a very large room filled with shelves of books...and then there was the swimming pool the Doctor told Amy about when they first met.

"Well, looks like we found the library," Amy said to herself. "The Doctor doesn't know where this room is anymore. He'll never find us here."

Rory ignored Amy. He kept a watch out for the Doctor. He never thought he would have to fear the Doctor. The Doctor had to fear other things, but he certainly wasn't alone. At least he had Rory and Amy. Rory looked at his watch and saw that only a few minutes had passed. He hoped they would make it to their destination soon so they could at least get out of the TARDIS and away from the Doctor.

Amy looked around the library and began to browse through the shelves. There were books on everything! Books on not just cooking, but eating! Books on building and demolishing, books on planets, books on musical instruments that Amy had never even heard of, books with nothing in them, puzzle books...Amy wasn't much of a bookworm, but she felt she wanted to spend a good amount of time in here just browsing and reading about all sorts of things that were out in the universe. Too bad she was currently being hunted by a Time Lord who wanted to hunt and kill them.

Amy finally picked a book with crossword puzzles in it and went back to Rory...

Meanwhile, the Doctor was trying to find Rory and Amy. His mind had blacked out right after he set the course for Mardoka. He wanted nothing more than to kill and destroy.

The Doctor began kicking through doors, searching for his companions. He kicked the doors of the exercise room, the rec room, the room with all the trinkets the Doctor had collected over the years, and many others. Each room did not have the Ponds in there, which was making the Doctor get frustrated. However, this frustration caused the Doctor to feel weak. He groaned and collapsed onto his hands and knees, trying to regain his composure while his normal self was beginning to fight for control. His normal self wanted rest, but his sick self wanted to kill.

"Don't...hurt the Ponds!" The Doctor said to his sick self as he felt himself struggling to keep his consciousness.

Unfortunately, his sick self won. The Doctor felt his normal mind fade into unconsciousness while his sick self took over. He smiled evilly, stood up, and continued his hunt for the Ponds.

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A while later, Rory and Amy were still in the library. Rory found himself an old cricket stick that was attached to a statue of a polar bear (don't ask) and armed himself with it. Amy kept her mind occupied with puzzle books until she finished the puzzles. After that, she found some books on the birds of Earth.

"Rory, d'you there are _white_ peacocks out there?" Amy asked in a surprised voice.

"Very interesting," said Rory, still worried. "How can you read at a time like this?"

"I'm trying to keep my mind occupied," answered Amy. "It's to keep myself from going mad. How can _you_ stand there for hours with the cricket stick on guard?"

"It's so we don't get killed, Amy!" yelled Rory.

"Hello, Ponds," said a voice.

"Hey Doctor," said Rory. "Wait, Doctor?!"

He turned around and saw the Doctor standing there. Rory began to swing the cricket stick at him but the Doctor grabbed it from him and broke it like a twig. Rory gulped as the pieces of the cricket stick fell to the floor. Since both Ponds were standing right next to the pool, the Doctor pushed them both in with a strong force and jumped in after them. Before Rory and Amy had a chance to come up and get some air, the Doctor began to hold them underwater. Both were struggling to come up and breathe as the Doctor's force was very strong. Suddenly, his force weakened and the Ponds came up, gasping for air.

"Doctor?" Amy yelled, looking for him, but he was gone.

"Hello, Sweeties," said a familiar female voice.


	5. River to the Rescue!

**I am so happy you guys are loving this! This makes me happy to update because you are all so great. Here's another chapter for you all.**

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"River!" exclaimed Rory and Amy.

River Song was standing above them, however, she turned around and knelt down.

"Where's the Doctor?" asked Rory, swimming and getting out of the pool.

He saw that the Doctor was lying on the floor, soaking wet and unconscious and River was tending to him. Rory joined River.

"River, what happened?" he asked worriedly.

"I tranquilized him," answered River, taking out a dart from the Doctor's neck. "He _was_ trying to kill you two unless it was the Gallifreyan version of playing Marco Polo."

Rory checked the Doctor for a pulse. There was one and he was breathing lightly. "We need to get him into bed,"

Amy, who was out of the pool, came to them. "Oh, Doctor..." she said with tears in her eyes, placing a hand on the Doctor's face. He looked peaceful yet tired.

Rory carried the Doctor to his room where he changed him into dry pajamas, got him into bed, and under the covers. He looked for medical equipment which the TARDIS provided for him in a nearby closet. He hooked the Doctor up to a heart monitor where it showed both of his hearts beating. Rory also hooked a breathing tube into the Doctor's nose from an oxygen tank due to being underwater. Finally, Rory got a cool washcloth and put it on the Doctor's forehead to help bring down his fever.

"So," began River with her hands on her hips. "Tell me what was going on."

"The Doctor has been suffering from this virus that affects Time Lords," explained Amy as she sat on the bed, holding one of the Doctor's hands. "It's the Gallifreyan Virenzapox. The symptoms include fever, chills, fatigue, and there are others, but most importantly, it makes him blackout and want to kill everyone around him!"

"Intense," said River. "Is there a cure for this?"

"There is," replied Rory. "We're currently headed for this planet called Mardoka to get the Mardokan Hibiscus. He needs the nectar from it so he can get better."

"Fair enough," said River, clapping her hands together and crossing her fingers. "Let's head out and get this flower."

The group went to the console room where River checked the controls.

"Okay, we're just a few minutes away from Mardoka," River said. "Okay, so here's the plan. Amy, you and I are going to go out and get the flower. Rory, since you're a nurse, you stay behind and keep watch on the Doctor. If he happens to wake up and try to kill you again, just shoot this."

She handed him a small gun. Rory stared at it. "What is it?"

"Tranquilizer gun," replied River. "Don't worry, the dart I tranquilized him with should last for a few hours and we should be back by then."

While River flew the TARDIS and landed it, Rory and Amy changed into dry clothes. When they got back, Rory wished them luck and kissed Amy goodbye before going with the Doctor. Amy pushed the TARDIS door open and stepped out with River.


	6. Mardoka

River and Amy stepped out to find a beautiful forest with tall, skinny trees and green moss mixed with dirt on the ground. There were birds on this planet, as Amy could hear them chirping in the distance, as well as a river trickling nearby.

"This place is beautiful," Amy said in awe as she and River walked through the forest.

River studied her surroundings as she walked. "Be careful, Amy. One thing you learn about travelling with the Doctor is that you must be on your toes at all times," she warned. "You can and _will_ be attacked at any time."

"River, this place looks fine," Amy said, rolling her eyes. "Maybe the only thing that might harm us are maybe those birds. Now where do you think the flower might be?"

Amy leaned against a thick tree and began to think. Suddenly, some long, green and leafy vines began to wrap themselves around Amy and tighten. Amy screamed.

"Aaaahhhh!" she screamed frantically. "Cut these bloody things off me!"

River sprung into action. She grabbed a sharp rock nearby and cut through the vines, setting Amy free. Amy hugged River.

"Oh, thank you!" she cried to her daughter.

"Now," River said casually. "You were saying?"

Amy remained quiet and continued to follow River through the forest.

Meanwhile, back on the TARDIS, Rory was tending to the Doctor, who was still sleeping peacefully. The washcloth that Rory put on when he first got the Doctor into bed had warmed up from the fever and the Doctor's face was flushed with sweat. Rory took the washcloth and returned with it cool again. As he was about to put it on the Doctor's forehead, the Doctor suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Rory and smiled. Rory froze in fear.

"Hi kitty..." the Doctor said weakly, grabbing Rory and petting his hair.

"Doctor!" yelped Rory. "It's me, Rory!"

"You're a nice cat," the Doctor said sleepily as he held and gently pet Rory.

"Doctor, I'm not a cat, you're just delirious!" Rory pointed out as he tried to free himself from the Doctor's hold, but it was very strong. Rory gulped as he pulled out the tranquilizer gun. "I have no choice but to do this!"

He pulled the trigger on the Doctor's arm which made the dart go in. The Doctor immediately felt the effects and began to feel drowsy. He closed his eyes and let go of Rory, who stood up.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," he said apologetically. He breathed a sigh of relief as the Doctor fell back into a deep sleep. At least the Doctor wasn't trying to kill him.

* * *

An hour had passed on Mardoka and River and Amy still had not found the flower. They had not encountered any more strange plants but Amy still kept an eye out for them. River was using a device that tracked certain flowers. However, she had not located any.

"Still no flowers," River reported, sounding grim.

"I wish the Doctor told us more about this planet," said Amy. "I was hoping he would be with us on this trip."

"Well, sweetie, he's a little preoccupied right now," said River.

The trees behind them rustled. River immediately stopped in her tracks and turned around. Nothing. She continued to walk. She figured it could have been the wind but she never knew. She always had to be one step ahead.

That was when Amy and River spotted a large tree with bright green leaves and flowers with many differently colored butterflies fluttering around it. Not just any kind of flower. They looked like those Hawaiian flowers but they were differently colored. They were white, but had rainbow specks on them. This caused River's device to go off and Amy's eyes lit up.

"There's the tree!" exclaimed Amy, beginning to run to the tree.

"Intruder!" squealed a high pitched voice.

Suddenly, hundreds and thousands of butterflies swirled themselves around Amy, who began to scream. "River!"

River began to run to Amy but she, too, was surrounded by butterflies. "What's going on?"

Another swarm of butterflies fluttered in front of Amy and River and began to speak all in unison in a high pitched voice. "What brings you here?"

"Let us go!" Amy cried, trying to break the butterflies apart but they proved to be too strong for her. It was like taking your hand and running your fingers across a wooden fence.

"Listen," River explained while holding up her hands in surrender. "We came here for a Mardokan Hibiscus. Our friend is very sick with the Gallifreyan Virenzapox. If he isn't cured, he could go on a killing spree. He's already attempted to kill Amy here a few times."

Amy waved nervously.

"We are the Mardokan Butterflies, different from the butterflies you see anywhere else in the universe," explained the butterflies. "We are one of the few creatures besides birds and fish to live on this planet. It used to be plentiful with our very own hibiscus flowers, much like the ones from Earth, but for many years, it's been harvested for health reasons, mostly for Gallifreyans. However, in the process, they have thought us to be a minuscule creature, and have killed many of our kind with various poisons and physical force. This is our only tree left with the Mardokan Hibiscus and we guard it. While no one has come to this tree in hundreds of years, we have built our defenses up."

"I assure you, we are not here to hurt you," Amy pleaded. "We just want our friend to get better. We only need one flower."

The butterflies remained silent. Finally, a pink butterfly flew up to the tree, picked a flower, flew to Amy, and dropped it in her hands. Amy smiled as the swarms of butterflies around her and River dispersed. The swarm that flew in front of them remained.

"Thank you!" Amy said gratefully.

"We hope your friend gets well," concluded the butterflies. "We are in sync with the trees and nature here. We have called off their attacks on you to let you go in peace. Farewell."

The butterflies flew back to the tree. River smiled in satisfaction.

"Well then," she said, turning around. "We didn't have to get kidnapped or even killed for once."

Amy smiled and excitedly began to run back to the TARDIS.


	7. Recovery

**Disclaimer: Hurky doesn't own The Beatles.**

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Amy and River burst back into the TARDIS, successfully completing their quest for the Mardokan Hibiscus. Amy gave River the flower so she could extract the nectar into a vaccine to inject into the Doctor. Meanwhile, Amy went to the Doctor's room to find Rory and the Doctor.

"We're baaaccckkk!" Amy said in a singsong voice.

"Hey," said Rory, sitting in a chair next to the Doctor, who was still asleep.

"How's our Doctor?" asked Amy, ruffling the Doctor's hair, which had been partially soaked with sweat from his fever.

"Well, he woke up for a minute but he didn't try to kill me," said Rory. "Instead, he was delirious, pretty out of it, I swear, because he thought I was a cat."

Amy laughed while River walked in, dusting off her hands.

"So the nectar is being made into a vaccine," she summarized. "Just give it a few moments and we'll have our cure."

"Rory, we had to deal with butterflies, swarms of them who could talk all in unison," said Amy. "And a tree tried to attack me, bloody scary."

Rory gave Amy a hug. "It's alright. You're here with us." he said with a smile. "I'm just glad you came back safe."

Thirty more minutes had passed before the cure was finally ready. River came back with a syringe and a clear liquid inside it. She handed it to Rory. "You do the honors."

Rory rolled up the right sleeve of the Doctor's pajama shirt and swabbed at the spot he was going to inject with a cotton ball. He squeezed the plunger of the syringe to make sure the liquid was flowing, which it was. He held his breath as he slowly injected the cure into the Doctor's arm.

"There we go," said Rory, taking the syringe out and tossing it in the trash. "All we can do is hope for the best."

So they did, and waited while before the Doctor began to show signs of improvement. Some color returned to the Doctor's face, which was the first sign. This was a great relief for Rory, Amy, and River. The Doctor's fever was also beginning to break. It was still high but it was no longer at a point where it nearly burned whoever was touching the Doctor's forehead.

Two hours had passed and the Ponds were still with the Doctor while River took control of the TARDIS. Rory was about to check the Doctor's blood pressure while Amy sat in the chair when the Doctor finally began to wake up.

"Mmm." The Doctor grumbled as he came to. He opened his eyes and saw found Amy sitting next to his bed while Rory pulled out a blood pressure cuff. Rory noticed the Doctor awake and smiled.

"Doctor, you're awake!" he cried happily, dropping the blood pressure cuff and darting to the bed.

Amy looked up and saw the Doctor with his eyes open. "Doctor!"

The Doctor smiled weakly. "Hullo, Ponds," he greeted. "What did I miss?"

Amy jumped out of her chair and hugged the Doctor, who lightly wrapped an arm around her. As soon as Amy was done, Rory hugged the Doctor next, who patted Rory's back.

"We are so happy you're awake!" Amy exclaimed happily. "How are you feeling?"

The Doctor ran a hand through a mess of floppy pillow hair. "Still tired, weak, head hurts..." he trailed off a little.

Amy took the Doctor's hand and put it into both of her hands. "Better?" she asked.

"You could say that," joked the Doctor. His face twisted as he felt pain surge throughout his entire body. It was almost as bad as when he had regenerated in the past. "And in a bit of pain but I don't think it'll kill me."

"Don't feel like killing us anymore?" Asked Rory.

The Doctor shook his head. "Think the worst is over," he said.

"River and I went to Mardoka and got the flower for you," explained Amy. "Took us forever to find it but we did!"

"River?" asked the Doctor.

River stepped into the room, smiling. "Hello, sweetie."

The Doctor's smile widened. River walked over to the Doctor, bent down, and kissed him on the cheek.

"How did you...?" asked the Doctor.

"Long story short, I was given a few spoilers," explained River, putting a finger to her lips. "I just knew my parents were in trouble and I had to come rescue them. I didn't think you were the one who was trying to kill them."

The Doctor's eyelids began to feel heavy. "I'll figure those spoilers out somehow, River..." he said sleepily. "But I'm just glad you're here..."

The Doctor's eyes fell shut. River, still smiling, pulled the blankets over the Doctor's chest and stroked his hair.

"He just needs more rest," she whispered. "Come on, let's let him be."

River dimmed the lights while Amy kissed the Doctor on the forehead before she and Rory left the room. River gently closed the doors as the Doctor slept peacefully with the lights on the ceiling glistening softly.

River remained on the TARDIS to help Rory and Amy out. The Doctor continued resting and as he rested, his symptoms continued to subside. His fever broke and he regained most of his strength, allowing for him to stay awake longer and sit up in bed. During the times he was awake, Amy would bring him soup and cups of tea (later, a few Jammie Dodgers) and talk to him with Rory. Amy told the Doctor of her adventure getting the Mardokan Hibiscus and the Mardokan Butterflies.

"Fascinating!" the Doctor proclaimed. "The last time I had been on Mardoka, they were just mere insects but the years have passed and they advanced drastically!"

"By the way, Doctor, you had a few episodes of delirium while Amy and River were out," spoke up Rory sheepishly. "You thought I was a cat and started petting me."

"I did?" The Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow with his lips curling into a smile. "Sorry, Rory, I didn't realize what I was doing under my atrocious state of health."

Amy couldn't hold in her laughter much longer. She burst out laughing while the Doctor joined her. Rory smiled a little bit to lighten the mood. He guessed it was pretty funny looking at it in retrospect.

Two days after receiving the cure, Amy and Rory came down that morning to find the Doctor, out of bed but still in his pajamas, a blue robe that was untied, and slippers on his feet fixing the lever he broke off under his rampage.

"Doctor!" Amy said in surprise. "You're out of bed!"

"Of course I'm out of bed," said the Doctor, sounding much better, like his normal self. "There are things to do, places to go! Time travel never takes a sick day, though in my case, I had to and I hated it. Got tired of being in bed all day. I hope to never get that dreadful Virenzapox again. Now, shall we all get ready for our destination?"

Amy groaned, however, the Doctor winked at her with a smile as he shuffled out of the control room in his slippers. He returned a few minutes later clean shaven and in his normal outfit, including the bow tie, but with a cane.

"What's with the cane?" asked Rory.

"Still feeling a bit awful, so this is to help keep my balance," explained the Doctor. "Haven't used one of these in a LONG time. Took me forever to find this."

The TARDIS shook and jolted. The Doctor smiled and pulled down the newly fixed lever.

"There's been a change in plans," he continued. "Instead of 1990s England, I figure we could go to the 1960s United States during-"

He burst the TARDIS doors open to a crowd full of screaming and cheering girls to a band with 4 young men with dark hair playing musical instruments and singing.

"-The British Invasion!" exclaimed the Doctor. "Beatlemania!"

Amy squealed. "The Beatles!" she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around the Doctor. He felt dizzy for a moment but regained his composure. Amy then grabbed Rory's hand, ran out of the TARDIS, and both began to dance to the music.

"Glad you're better," said River, standing next to the Doctor. She held out a hand. "Shall we dance, sweetie?"

"Don't mind if I do!" the Doctor said happily, taking River's hand into his and walked out of the TARDIS to join Rory and Amy...

* * *

**And that is the end. I hope you all liked it. I hope you all had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. I wanted to end this on a positive note. Reviews are great! :P Thank you all for making this awesome.**


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